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100 Transmissions Stolen From Auto Parts Business

ARCHBALD — A car parts business in Lackawanna County is missing some 100 transmissions today. Although the transmissions aren’t brand new, the crime...

ARCHBALD -- A car parts business in Lackawanna County is missing some 100 transmissions today.

Although the transmissions aren't brand new, the crime concerns authorities because criminals have targeted the business three times in one week.

Archbald Police have been called to Highway Auto Parts, a used car parts lot in the borough, three times in the last week. Each time, the thefts become more unusual and more bold. Most recently, police said a group of crooks took more than 100 transmissions from the place.

Highway Auto Parts in Archbald was home to a heist that police believe took hours overnight and rid the used auto parts lot of about 20,000 pounds worth of parts.

The thieves started small last week, swiping tires and wheels. Then a few days later 100 car batteries were stolen.

But those two were nothing compared to what was stolen sometime over the weekend. Police believe the same thieves took 100 transmissions that were piled up on the lot.

"It definitely was multiple people, we think all the thefts are related. And they're definitely using some kind of truck or trailer," said Archbald Police Patrolman Christian Capone.

Patrolman Capone said the only evidence left behind were large truck tracks at the back of the lot. Capone thinks a group of thieves had to make several trips to get all those transmissions.

"I would assume that they're scrapping the metal. It's large quantities of metal and that's been popular these days. There are a lot of places in the area that will take this kind of thing and its quick cash," he added.

Workers at Ben Weitsmann's in Scranton have not seen a lot of transmissions lately, but showed Newswatch 16 how hard they are to move. The parts weigh about 200 pounds each.

Frequent scrappers say a transmission will earn you about $30. A price the thieves may have multiplied by 100.

Police say their next step is to alert local scrap yards. But scrappers said these thieves are organized and likely took the transmissions elsewhere.

"Most likely what happened is they went out-of-state. They probably took it to New York or New Jersey. It's probably on its way to being melted down soon, unless they catch them,” said Kietchen Eaches of Simpson.

Police in Archbald said scrap metal theft has spiked recently as the weather has gotten warmer. They're asking anyone who may have information about this theft to call them.

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